With less than 11 months left in office and his approval ratings near the lows of his presidency, Bush is trying to shore up support for the Iraq campaign, which has damaged U.S. credibility abroad and is sure to define his legacy.”

Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani, right, sits next to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in his office in Baghdad

Over on the post “U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday declared the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a ‘successful endeavor’ in a visit to Iraq.

‘If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor … and it has been well worth the effort,’ Cheney told a news conference in Baghdad after meeting Iraqi leaders.

The Iraq war is a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign. As it enters it sixth year, the war has cost the U.S. economy $500 billion and seen nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis killed.

Shortly after Cheney spoke, a woman wearing a suicide vest blew herself up in a cafe in the southern holy Shi’ite city of Kerbala, killing 25 people and wounding 50, police and health officials said. Bombs in Baghdad killed four and wounded 13.

An indigenous woman holds her child while trying to resist the advance of Amazonas state policemen who were expelling the woman and some 200 other members of the Landless Movement from a privately-owned tract of land on the outskirts of Manaus, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon March 11, 2008. The landless peasants tried in vain to resist the eviction with bows and arrows against police using tear gas and trained dogs. — [REUTERS/Luiz Vasconcelos-A Critica/AE].